What you need to know
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles share | S is in the interface, with a large button on the dashboard dedicated to your digital games collection.
- The Xbox Insider Program allows Xbox users to test upcoming releases of the dashboard and other apps.
- The latest build of the Xbox Insider Program contains some improvements to the library of games and apps, adding a tabbed interface that separates content by source.
The Xbox Dashboard has seen some interesting updates lately, perhaps one of the most notable was the inclusion of Discord as part of the Xbox Insider Program. This latest Xbox Insider Alpha Ring build has some noticeable changes to the Games & Apps section, which is usually where you go to browse all your installed content and games available for download.
The new interface revamps the “Full Library” section of the dashboard, which was a bit cluttered in the previous incarnation. Now, it features a quick tabbed interface with horizontal labels for different groups of content, separating out “Owned Games” you’ve purchased directly from libraries like Xbox Game Pass or EA Play.
Each of the tabs has been designed with specific features of that set of content in mind. For example, the full “Owned Games” list doesn’t need to show Recent Additions or Leave Soon filters, which is exactly what the Xbox Game Pass tab offers instead. You still get the regular filters as before, with the ability to change the sizes of the tiles to fit more content on one screen.
At the moment, the tabs are as follows:
- “All Games”, which collects every content source in one library.
- “Owned Games”, which means all purchased content.
- “Xbox Game Pass”, which are licenses you can access as a result of that subscription. This section also has Play Later, Recently Added, and We’ll Be Leaving Soon menus at the top of its library.
- EA Play, which can be purchased separately or as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This includes games from Electronic Arts including Battlefield, FIFA, and Mass Effect. Likewise, this has a “Recently Added” list, but it also includes a “Gaming Experiences” list of new titles that come with a 10-hour limited access feature as part of this subscription.
- Games with Gold includes all the titles you can get as part of Xbox Live Gold’s monthly free game offers.
- Finally, there is a section dedicated to apps like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, etc.
To speculate, Microsoft may have built this streamlined section to integrate other future gaming subscription groups into the library. Recently, the origins of Ubisoft+ were discovered by Aggiornamenti Lumia On Twitter on the Xbox back end. It’s adding fuel to earlier rumors that Microsoft might be exploring a partnership with Assassin’s Creed publisher, in a collaboration that could be similar to what Xbox Game Pass has with EA Play. Ubisoft+ is already available as a separate service on PC, but it can also be purchased as part of PlayStation Plus and even Amazon’s Luna streaming service.
Increasingly, it looks like subscription services will be an important part of AAA publishers’ revenue streams, and the change in Xbox games and apps library will likely be designed to accommodate that. Xbox is working hard on adding its own features and content Xbox Game Pass, with friends and family Plan over the horizon.
A library of new Xbox games and apps is now available as part of the Xbox Insider Program, and is likely to roll out to the general public in the coming weeks.
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